Sunday, December 31, 2006

Draining the Swamp

The Hill is reporting that Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has taken responsibility for a series of ethics violations involving his most recent campaign. Presumably the new head of the House Judiciary Committee, Conyers "repeatedly violated House ethics rules by requiring aides to work on local and state campaigns, and babysit and chauffeur his children..."

There's a thread here.

Recall that Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is a former chair of the House Ethics Committee. That's the same Mollohan under federal investigation after the National Legal and Policy Center filed a complaint with the department regarding a bizarre increase in Mollohan's net worth. For 2005, Mollohan and his wife reported assets worth $6.8 million to $25.7 million, up from $116,000 to $315,000 in 1999. His financial disclosure restatements came only after the group's complaint.

And John Murtha (D-PA), incoming chair of the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, smells of rot himself. The Post reports that a charity founded by a longtime Murtha aide has become a "funnel for money" to his campaigns from defense contractors and lobbyists who directly benefit from his decisions. A Taxpayers for Common Sense spokesman noted, "It's a real tangled web between the congressman, the nonprofit, the defense contractors and the lobbyists."